- This topic has 13 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 10 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
-
We’ve had a rash of returns in the last few months. All for fit. Which is ANNOYING because we put highly detailed measurements in our listings. Why bother…most buyers don’t even seem to see these.
Returns are coming back in questionable condition:
-One NWT sweater was returned missing all tags and all stretched out
-A pair of Free People pants came back with some popped threads in the butt and reeking of perfume
-A vintage red wool shirt arrived smelling like it was worn while the buyer hot boxed Old Golds in his mini van
-A light colored dress came back with lipstick smeared on the necklineI contacted ebay on the NWT sweater issue and was advised to “take a photo of the sweater” and add it to the return description, and then within 48 hours, ebay would make a decision. Well, 4 business days passed and NOTHING from ebay, so I just refunded the buyer her money.
What do you all do about these situations? These transactions have all been under the $30 range, but I’m waiting in dread for it to happen on a higher dollar item.
-
Sounds like a really frustrating situation. After addressing these situations with ebay and taking pictures, if you are stuck with the items and are not able to recoop your monies, I would offer a few thoughts:
1. For anything new you sell, add a restocking fee.
2. Take one item at a time and see if it can be redeemed in order to be resold. Depending on the material makeup of the sweater, the stretched sweater may be able to regain its structure by running water over it, gently squeezing to get excess water out, and then laying it on a flat surface to dry.
3. Check on YouTube for fixes for each item based on what kind of material the item is made of and what the issue is.
4. After you do that, I would offer to just remind yourself that these unfortunate situations occur in the world of business and online selling and that they are only temporary.
5. Keep moving forward by listing some items that really interest you or have a high dollar value. -
As we’ve mentioned, we’ve been hit with a lot of returns as well. But haven’t had the same issue with items being returned in poor shape. That’s not good.
AdventureE is correct that adding a restocking fee can help ease the pain a little. I feel it stops buyers from “renting” clothes for free. It also may give them pause to return an item knowing they have to pay the fee.
Only other option is to dispute each case. Means you need to keep getting on the phone with eBay. No simple answer.
-
- Location:
I always do a 20% restocking fee on everything I sell
Maybe it discourages returns
I don’t think people notice it when buying thingsNo one ever complained about the 20%
A couple times I got the item back perfectly packed and like new – so I waived the 20% without buyer even asking. I bet they never noticed that.
-
Unfortunately when folks lie, use items, then do a ‘not as described’ unless you want to go into battle, restocking fee is useless. ;-(
-
Yep. I can happen, but how often?
Out of 100 sales, how many people lie and send an item back saying its your fault?
The danger is focusing all your energy on the rare bad buyer.For us, I’d say we sell 3000 items a year.
In that year, we may have four buyers about an item not being as described.
It’s a miniscule problem for us.
-
-
Bully for you, Jay. But not all of us sell 3000 items a year or bring in $2k a month. And so it does cut into costs for many of us, actually. 😉
-
-
-
You’ve had 3 INAD cases in just 50 days? That’s nuts.
If you really didnt make any mistakes, then it’s all about calling eBay and disputing the case. Wont always won, but there’s a chance. I hate to tell you that dishonest returns will happen any online platform you use to sell.
Not sure why you have had so many so quickly. Again its rare for us.
-
-
First gal never sent the return, I closed it out. Second one Ebay gave me bad advice on how to not accept the return as INSAD, so they made good on the 20% restock and shipping both ways. The buyer, however, didn’t take the $ blow, Ebay did. And this last one I jus let go; very sorry I didn’t call Ebay to dispute it (buyer clearly opened the item – rare loose-leaf sealed textbook – took what he needed and sent it back opened, dirty and cherry-picked), but was too burned out to deal. None of these were under $100.
It comes in waves, these things. Like you said in your podcast. Returns for whatever reason.
-
It’s so frustrating to have to deal with less than truthful buyers. I have had only one in almost two years that I have been selling. I only have about 380 items listed. Mine was only about $20 and I had to decide if the emotional aggravation was worth the $20. I hate allowing buyers like that get away with it because it only reinforces that behavior for sellers to come, but my concern was disputing it with eBay and maybe having them rule in the buyers favor then I have a defect and a $20 defect wasn’t worth it for me. I wish there was a better system, but platforms like Amazon don’t even have a dispute resolution system like eBay does. I am hoping that eBay never moves to a more Amazon-like system.
-
I thankfully don’t get many returns, but I sold a NWT sweatshirt Jan.2 to a buyer with zero feedback. Mid-Feb she requested to return, saying she had just bought some others and this one is a good bit shorter than those. Hmmm… Received it back, no tags, clearly washed and shrunken, maybe not even the same one. Contacted eBay. Long story short, they ruled in her favor, gave her a complete refund, then told me they would file a wrongful return appeal and immediately refunded my Paypal. Hopefully they tag her account and keep an eye to see if this is (as I suspect) going to be her pattern. What a shame to encourage such behavior!
-
It seems that ebay needs to hire a psychologist who just focuses on the psychology of business and can instruct them in best business and behavior (company, seller, and buyer) pratices and how to reinforce them. For having been around for at least 10 years, it appears that ebay is still engaging in the trial and error approach in certain areas.
-
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.